At the Newark Hill Academy, we use Flip across all areas of the curriculum. 

 

Mrs Worts, who is a Year 3 teacher and our Flip Student Voice Ambassador, explains how she used Flip with her pupils:

 

Flip is an extremely user-friendly website, that allows teachers to facilitate video discussions. As a Flip Student Voice Ambassador, I am an advocate of Flip as a safe, fun and stress-free way to share across a range of topics and year groups.  With my class of 30 Year 3 children, I have been able to use this social learning platform to encourage the children to engage in thoughtful online conversations and share their learning in a safe way. It is a super simple way for students and teachers to ‘share’ information, across all areas of the curriculum. 

 

At the beginning of the academic year, we had a visit from a Stone Age workshop group. In preparation for their visit, the children recorded themselves asking questions on Flip that they wanted to ask about this period in History. This history lesson supported their IT skills, as well as their curiosity about others and the past. 

 

In the Summer Term, the children created short persuasive videos to encourage tourists to visit the Mediterranean, which they then presented on Flip.  As they practised, their delivery of the report became better each time as their confidence grew. All children had the opportunity to share their ideas and get creative with their videos. 

 

I have used Flip to pose questions to the children, such as - ‘Why visit the Mediterranean?’ and ‘What is your favourite book?’. Those children who, in person, might have felt anxious about speaking in front of a group confidently, shared their knowledge through videos on Flip.  The children really enjoy sharing in this way and love to play around with the filters, backgrounds and stickers for that extra personal expression. 

 

 

During the lock-down period, the children recorded themselves reading books. This became a popular way for our children to engage with reading and we continue this each year. This space allows our children to show off their reading skills where they don't feel self-conscious, trying out their expression and intonation. This also enables teachers and teaching assistants to listen to them read, give feedback accordingly and ask thought-provoking questions, helping to improve their comprehension.

Question that we ask the children frequently in Maths are, ‘why?’ and ‘how?’. Flip provides the perfect platform for them to explain their own understanding, and prove their answers.